Autumn Holiday, 16 October 2026

 Brixton, London SW2

We got up early this morning to get to the Shuttle by 09:30, first checking that the service was running normally after last night's accident (it was).  We were offered a crossing 30 minutes earlier than our booked one, although I think it was only about 15 minutes earlier when it finally left.  

The drive to No 6 was horrible - it was chucking it down on the M20, and the other motorways were choked with traffic, although we didn't actually have to stop.  Once we had left the M23, it was okay and uneventful.   The main road had been closed to all but residents due to urgent work to repair a burst water main and subsequent damage, and we were a little concerned lest they didn't believe we were coming to the village, but actually, the works finished and the Southen Water vans passed us going in the opposite direction!  So that was all right.

We had lunch with my mother and sister, and the Swan Whisperer loaded the car and sorted things out.  I went up with him to put the WoMo away, and it's as well I did, as I said I'd just have one last check, and looked in a cupboard I'd missed earlier - whoops, we had nearly left the onions, the potatoes, the eggs and the bread behind!  That would not have been a good idea!  

Our drive back to London was fine until we got to Mitcham, and from there on the traffice was horrendous.  But we got home in the end, and I've now (mostly) unpacked and we've had supper, and that, I think, is basically It until next time!  Photo is of the view from just outside the WoMo's garage.

Autumn Holiday, 15 October 2026

Blériot-Plage, Pas-de-Calais

The last full day of our holidays can be really rather dull. Today was the exception. 

We woke at about 06:15 when people started arriving at the farm, presumably to do the milking and start the day's cheese-making (they were supposed to offer us a tour of the plant, but they never). I said I really didn't want to have breakfast with that appalling noise going on, so why didn't we get up and dress, and drive into Maroilles and have breakfast there. Which we did. 

After breakfast we went for a walk round the town. There are photos on Facebook. We thought the town was perhaps slightly more dull than we had anticipated, but when we got back to the WoMo, parked up in the car-park of the Mairie, I noticed what looked like an insignificant side-street, but which had a poster saying "Bienvenue à" and I couldn't see what we were being welcomed to. So the SW said he wanted his coffee, and why didn't I go and look while he had it. So I did, and I'm so glad I did. It turned out to be the entrance to the grounds of the former abbey. There is no trace of it left, but there are houses where the visitors' quarters were, and around most of the square. And then you could go down some steps and there was the old water-mill, in the process of being restored, apparently. And there was the water-wheel - not in use just now, but obviously heavily restored! And then you could go up another flight of stairs back to the main square. When I got back to the WoMo, I sent the SW to go and have a quick explore, as he had finished his coffee by then.

It was time to head on, so we drove back to the Cité Europe, arriving about 12:30. So we put on a load of washing in the machines there, and I did a Last Shop In France (very nearly!) and then we had lunch. Once the washing was finished, we headed out, via Lidl (hence the very nearly!) and up to Cape Gris-Nez. The main reason I'd wanted to go to Lidl was that almost every Lidl I've ever been to in France has a huge set of recycling bins, and we have a load of recycling that needs to be done. But did the one at Calais have any? You guess! So frustrating! 

Anyway, we drove down to Cape Gris Nez via the motorway, and then had a lovely walk round there, looking at things like rare breed sheep that are tasked with grazing the downland pasture there, looking at shipping in the Channel - it was too misty to see England today, but one usually can - and seeing a helicopter, presumably Search and Rescue. We hope it was just practising. Again, photos on Facebook. 

Once we had had our walk, we drove back along the coast road to Blériot-Plage and parked up for the night in the aire here. And we have just had a Last Supper, and will be heading home in the morning. Although the aire is stupendously dull, here is a photo I took of the view from the bedroom window. Rather nice, I thought:

Autumn Holiday, 14 October 2026

Maroilles, Nord

We hadn't really anything much planned for today. I'd put on the laminated sheet that we could go to Reims, but it felt dull and not really far enough along our route. But back at the beginning of the holiday, we had rather liked the look of the small town of Maroilles, so decided to come back here, and there is a France Passion farm that makes and sells the eponymous cheese, so we are parked up here for the night, and hope to explore the town in the morning before heading to Calais for our last night. 

It was an interesting drive, as the quickest route took us through Belgium, and we took a diversion into Luxembourg to buy cheaper diesel (and a baguette for lunch from the garage while we were at it), so we have been in three countries today. I do wonder, though, how long it will take me to stop having panic attacks every time we pass a larger vehicle on a narrow road! 

Anyway, we have bought cheese, and cider, and apple/blackcurrant juice, and some honey with nuts and other nice bits in to have with yoghurt/fromage frais. And I am making the long-promised risotto. At that, this is third time lucky with France Passion - I had planned two for this trip, and neither happened, once because the Swan Whisperer didn't like the look of the road, and then because we were stuck in Mirecourt pending replacement of our retroviseur. The only thing is that the cooling plant is a bit noisy, but once I have taken out my hearing-aids and we have shut the shutters, it should be all right. This is the view from the motor home:

Autumn Holiday, 13 October 2026

Amnéville, Moselle

The Swan Whisperer didn't really want to get up this morning - can't say I blame him, and anyway, he has just discovered Georgette Heyer! So I got up and went for the bread, and came back and cooked scrambled eggs for us both. And then we were sitting quietly, him reading and me playing my anti-senility games when a WhatsApp message came through from the garage to say the new rear-view mirror had arrived, and we should come in an hour. 

So we did, and while it was being fixed we went for a walk round Mirecourt

and did a small shopping in a local Carrefour Market, and then we were able to set off and come to Amnéville as scheduled! The Satnav, unfortunately, said it knew where the Thermapolis was, and would take us there, but in fact it didn't know at all, and we were some 20 km short of our destination when it said we were about to arrive. So I reprogrammed it with the address of the place, rather than the name, and it took us all the way through Metz, where we haven't been for years, which was great! Anyway, we arrived eventually and had a Nice Cup of Tea before heading to the pool. 

We spent a very happy hour in the Thermapolis, which reopened in February after a lengthy closure - longer than anticipated as it needed a new roof - and thus back to the Camping-Car Park here, where we have stayed several times before. 

I had planned to make risotto for supper - I'd planned that last night, too, but we were too upset and hungry to want much in the way of food - but when push came to shove I was pleasantly exhausted, so we had an "instant" supper of tinned squid mixed with microwaveable wholegrain, wild and red rice, and frozen peas. It was actually delicious, much to our surprise! 

The weather here is quite extraordinary - one day it is clear blue skies, and the next grey, dank and wet. Yesterday was the former, today, the latter. I have hopes for tomorrow... we shall see! 

Autumn Holiday, 12 October 2026

Mirecourt, Vosges

I do not believe it. I do not [expletive deleted] believe it! We go how many years without an accident in the motor home - and then have two in one day. To add insult to injury, it was the exact same thing each time. Some numpty knocked our wing-mirror right off. We went to a very nice garage down in Vesoul, which replaced it (eye-wateringly expensive), and lo and behold, an hour later some other numpty drove even faster into the new one and really smashed it! In hindsight, we would have done better not to have replaced the first one, which was still there, most of it.... but hey. So we found a repair place here in Mirecourt, which was only a few kilometres back on the route, and they, too, couldn't have been nicer, but they needed to order a new one (the first place had one in stock), and it may not be there until Wednesday. They hope it will be there tomorrow, but can't promise it. 

Mind you, Mirecourt seems a very nice place, and there is a Camping-Car Park - but I was looking forward to a farm stay tonight, with raw milk, cheese, plum jam, etc for sale. And we have had to spend the best part of £1,000 replacing the wing mirror twice - and I bought a protective cover for it, which did absolutely nothing. 

No idea where we'll be tomorrow. This photo is of the little park at the foot of the aire. 

Autumn Holiday, 11 October 2026

Chalezeule, Doubs

After breakfast this morning, the Swan Whisperer went for a walk around a local lake, and I set off to explore the village. There really wasn't much village to explore, and it wasn't all that exciting. I thought there was a Sunday market, but it was only two stalls, one selling honey and related products, and the other selling chicken and chips and very similar (no thanks, not straight after breafast!). 

So there wasn't much to see, although I took a fair few photos,

and then walked down to meet the Swan Whisperer on his way back from his walk. Then after coffee (for some reason I wanted a second cup, which I seldom do), we set off towards Besançon, straight along the former N road. This was a lovely mixture of scenic roads, fast roads, villages and the occasional, inevitable industrial/commercial area on the outskirts of larger towns and villages. 

We turned off to go to another "Cirque du Fer à Cheval", which the SW wanted to see, but from the top this time. I stayed in the WoMo, as I really hate that sort of thing. In fact, we think we got better views on the way down after we'd had lunch, as I think the official viewpoint was overgrown. The road was one of those dug into solid rock, always rather alarming! And not very well surfaced. 

Anyway, we headed on and arrived here at this campsite outside Besançon at about 15:30. After a cup of tea, I went for a leg-stretch around the site to get my steps in, and later the SW went for a walk on his own behalf. There is a walnut tree just outside the van and loads of windfall green walnuts; I am not quite sure what one does with them, but my mother probably knows - I must text her to ask! 

Autumn holiday, 10 October 2026

St-Etienne-du-Bois, Ain

This morning, first thing after breakfast, I told the Swan Whisperer that I was going to catch a bus into the city centre and have a proper look round. 

I just missed the bus, so walked for several stops until I came to the place where there were only a few minutes left to wait for the next one. It duly came, and I got off at the station. 

I thought at first that Aix-les-Bains was going to prove rather dull, the only interesting things I saw on the way in were a rather peculiar statue

and a "Salon du Chocolat" at the casino. I was tempted to investigate the latter, but decided not to, and walked on. Finally, I hit pay dirt - lovely independent shops, a Monoprix (which I did walk round!), a bakery, where I got bread for lunch and then the local market,

both covered and outdoor. I didn't buy anything, but really enjoyed wandering around, until I discovered that the next bus back to the aire was due in 8 minutes, and I needed to get a wiggle on if I were to catch it. 

I did catch it, but made a mistake and stayed on a stop too far. It looked as though it would be nearer, but the road I thought led straight to it ended up on a building site! So I walked down to the lake, enjoying the pollarded limes bordering the lake path,

and so back to the WoMo. 

The SW had returned from his own walk by then, so we used the services and headed on, driving cross-country to this little village, where we have been able to park up by the local church (I gather this is very much a Thing, but we are the only WoMo here just now). The drive was a mixture - the usual endless roundabouts and industrial/commercial areas, but also lovely countryside and pretty villages. There was even a rainbow on the side of a hill, which neither of us had ever seen before, but of course as soon as I got my phone out to take a picture, it disappeared! 

Autumn Holiday, 9 October 2026

Aix-les-Bains, Savoie

We started off this morning with a disagreement about what to do. The Swan Whisperer wanted to drive up to some lake near Beaufort, and I wanted to visit the heritage museum in Ugines. In the end, we could do neither. First of all, the Satnav showed that the road to the lake was closed - snow? Mud? Roadworks? Who knows! And then when we got to Ugines, we couldn't find anywhere to park near the museum, and weren't altogether too sure we'd even found the museum! So we came away, and drove here to Aix-les-Bains. 

Lunch was a mistake - it was too fatty with butter and cheese, and I felt very sick after it. After a nap it was better, so we drove back on ourselves a bit to the nearest E Leclerc, where I did some shopping, and then came back to the aire. After a cup of tea, the SW announced his intention of going for a walk. I had understood that we had been going to go for a walk together, but this was evidently not his plan, so I went for my own walk a bit later. Which was lovely - along the waterfront,

and then up along the Tillet (a little stream that runs into the Lac du Bourget), and across a small, wooded park. I'd have thought I'd gone the wrong way had I not seen a couple walking their dog in front of me! 

I went slightly the wrong way myself, as my phone told me the SW was in a park a little way away, and I thought that was where the motorhome aire was. He seemed not to be moving, so when I realised my mistake, I rang his phone to make sure he hadn't dropped it somewhere, but all was well. I got back to the WoMo shortly before he did, and will spend the evening watching YouTube videos in bed! 

I think we leave the Alps tomorrow and start heading slowly home. We haven't slept at higher than about 700 metres, but, apart from when my digestion has gone back on me, I've felt as well as I usually feel here! 

Autumn Holiday, 8 October 2026

Albertville, Savoie

What a wet day! We knew it was going to happen, but it really was wet. I stayed in all morning, and made soup for lunch - it has been a cold day. The Swan Whisperer went for a walk and came back soaked to the skin and had to change! 

After lunch, we drove up to the village of Conflans, just above the town, which has a lovely mediaeval centre, just the kind of place I love.

I remembered my water, walking shoes (and yes, I did wear socks! First time since spring!) and trekking poles and managed very well, if rather slowly. Unfortunately my watch doesn't seem to like trekking poles any more than it likes supermarket shopping trolleys, and Strava stopped recording half-way round our walk, so I have no accurate record! 

Anyway, the rain by then had dwindled to a drizzle, so although we were by no means dry, we weren't soaked when we got in. We came back to the campsite and haven't moved since. Of course, now that it is dark and cold, the rain is (at least temporarily) away! We move on tomorrow, so I hope it does stay fine. Forecast is iffy! 

Autumn Holiday, 7 October 2026

Albertville, Savoie

Today started badly and ended well, which is the best way round!

Chamonix-Mont Blanc, as they call it these days, was a bust. To start with, the weather has gone back on us and it is much colder (but I'm still not wearing socks!) and very wet. So the mountains were wreathed in mist and we barely saw the eponymous mountain. We remembered, though, that we had seen it when we went to Italy and accidentally routed ourselves that way. We did catch a glimpse of snow, but I expect it will have all gone by this time next year. Oh the other hand, they do forecast snow for up there tomorrow! I wonder. 

Anyway, when we got there, we went to the car park, but it was still raining and there seemed to be no way of crossing the motorway. So we argued with the Satnav until it consented to drive us round the town, which looked very splendid - loads of posh hotels you can just imagine wealthy Brits staying in a hundred years ago! 

After that, things got even more pear-shaped, as the Satnav decided to pay us out for being so mean to it, and first of all kept making us drive over the most appalling hairpin bends - I was very, very nearly sick - and then it couldn't find the campsite! We had stopped en route for lunch in a random Auchan car park, and the road got better after that when we ignored its instructions and followed the road signs to Albertville. But it decided the camp was up a parallel road to where it actually is, which doesn't have a cut-through! Oh well, we found it in the end. 

We thought we would like to visit the Tremplin 92 exhibition which is situated in the old Olympic hall (now an ice rink, climbing wall, concert venue and various seminar rooms), and, very luckily, I looked on its website to find that it was going to be closed tomorrow and Friday! However, it was 4:00 pm by then, and the place didn't close until 6:00, so we quickly drank our cups of tea and headed into the town. 

The exhibition - it is too small, really, to be called a museum - was great fun.

There was a lot about the Alps and the mountain environment, and even more about the 1992 winter Olympics, and the forthcoming 2030 ones. There were also VR headsets of a bobsleigh run, a microlight ride and another one, but my carsickness was too recent to risk it. The SW had a go on the bobsleigh and said it was great fun. I reckoned that if I actually got into the bobsleigh, I'd not be able to get out again!

When we had exhausted the delights of the exhibition, we went out of doors and walked over to where we could see the Olympic Cauldron

- it had temporarily stopped raining - and I took a photo of the outside of the stadium, too. Then we went back to the campsite and flaked out until supper!

 Tomorrow we think we'll go to a mediaeval village - Conflens, I think they call it - just above the town. Mind you, the forecast is appalling. It's a good job we did go to the Fer a Cheval yesterday, as they close it when there is a yellow warning for torrential rain, as there is just now. I just hope the weather will clear a bit after tomorrow. 

Autumn Holiday, 6 October 2026

Tagnines, Haute-Savoie

The Swan Whisperer went to get bread this morning, and we didn't hurry away; in fact, he had his coffee before we set off. We drove up to the Fer a Cheval, about 20 km from here. Motorhome have to park in the furthest away car-park, and it is a 10-minute walk, all uphill, to get to the centre, where there is a restaurant, a souvenir shop and a tourist office (closed for the mid-season). There are also a great many hikes, and the SW decreed that we would go on one of them.

I was already regretting not having brought my trekking poles, and my water, and not having worn my stout walking-shoes, even though that would have meant also wearing socks and my feet would have been too hot. By the time we were half-way up the walk (just like Clapham Woods, it appeared to be uphill all the way, and the lovely mountain views

disappeared into woodland)

I was gasping for breath in a way I haven't for some years now. Bear in mind that we were at over 9000 metres, and went quite a lot higher (Strava says 104 metres). The SW was very patient, but you could feel he was longing to rush on at his own pace. Finally, finally, finally the torture was over, but I was fit for nothing.

There was a drinking-fountain just before we got to the restaurant, and I made good use of it! We had lunch - both of us had a "salad paysanne", which was lettuce with tomatoes, croutons, cubes of cheese, lardons and a hard-boiled egg. Very nice. I drank non-alcoholic 1664, which wasn't quite as nice as the full-fat version, but still very drinkable. Then I had a café gourmand to finish with. 

Then a final 10-minute walk back down the hill to the WoMo, and I flaked out inside while we drove back, going out of our way to go to the Super U, where I scored some lovely fresh pear juice which we drank with our supper. On the way back to the campsite, we stopped again at a Mr Bricolage and the SW got a hook-and-loop fastener to try to keep the bedroom door in place - it slides, and its catch no longer works. 

When we got in, I changed into pyjamas so that we could do a much-needed load of washing, and basically flopped on the bed reading until supper time. The kind SW cooked; it was fish with the end of the lemon butter sauce, mashed potatoes/cauliflower and carrots, followed by the kind of chocolate dessert that Americans call "pudding". 

I do hope that I won't be fit for nothing tomorrow - I only did nearly 8k steps, and I've done a lot more than that in my time, but it was uphill, at altitude, and I am exhausted! 

Autumn Holiday, 5 October 2026

Taninges, Haute-Savoie

We hadn't expected to be still here tonight - and we will, in fact, be staying another night. I had booked us into a Camping-Car Park at Sixt-Fer-a-Cheval (hoping, as I explained yesterday, to visit Chamonix tomorrow, but that will probably now happen on Wednesday), only to find when I got there that I had absolutely no telephone signal, none, nada, zilch. There was WiFi at the place, but I couldn't get logged in, as I think their systems were down. We couldn't get in there, either, and couldn't phone them up without a signal! So we came away and came back here, and he was very kind and booked us in for tonight and tomorrow night, no problem. We'll probably go up to the Fer a Cheval tomorrow anyway - it really isn't that far, and the Swan Whisperer would like to see it. 

Meanwhile, the first port of call this morning was to a Super U where I did a small shopping - quite forgetting the bread I'd wanted to get for lunch! Oh well, we did have some, but not a lovely fresh baguette! The Swan Whisperer suggested we visit Morzine, which wasn't too far away, so we drove there and parked up. It was a very pretty little ski resort. Hardly anywhere was open, it being both a Monday and October, you would expect that, but we enjoyed a short-Ish walk round the town.

Then we headed back to Sixt-Fer-a-Cheval, with the aforementioned result. The receptionist here said that there are no networks up there and it is a well-known problem. 

Anyway, once we got back here, the SW went off on a long walk by himself, and I stayed in as I was expecting a phone call, which duly came through. Then it was time to start getting supper, which was fresh pasta with a home-made tomato sauce (I should have blended it, but failed to), cabbage and leek. Followed by fromage blanc and strawberry compote! Delicious. 

Autumn Holiday, 4 October 2026

Taninges, Haut-Savoie

We weren't going to be here tonight - I had planned for us to stay at a lovely France Passion farm, although I can't now remember what it sold. However, the Swan Whisperer said it would be impossible to go there because it was at the end of a long single-track road - although in that case, how come it is a long-standing France Passion host, with excellent reviews? So he said we would go to this campsite.At least he paid! It's another OnlyCamp, so I asked the very nice receptionist in the camp where we stayed last night if she would be kind enough to ring them up and ask if there were any spaces for us. She quite understood my not liking to telephone in French (I can if I have to, but....) and was told that they had plenty of spaces, and we should arrive between 3 and 6 pm. 

It wasn't a long way from our overnight camp by the lake, but first we had to go to a local Carrefour Market to try to get gas, as our French cube had run out and the SW was quite convinced there were only dregs in the other one (in fact, as he apologised later, it is at least 1/3 full, we needn't have worried). So he then found another place in Annecy where he hoped we could get it, and, luckily, he was successful this time. 

Anyway, he then said that we wouldn't be able to go into Chamonix from where we are staying tomorrow and the next night, because there isn't a direct route. I do wish he had said that before I booked and paid for the Camping-Car Park, as I would have made other arrangements. As it is, he wants to go to some ghastly Cirque or other, although he says we will be at the bottom of it, but I bet there are nothing but hairpin bends all over. It might be impressive. But I'm annoyed as my vague meal plans for the week had us eating lunch in Chamonix (which I said several times before he said we couldn't go there!) so I wouldn't have to cook in the evening. 

Anyway, we got to this campsite shortly after 3, having stopped for the SW to have coffee and then again for a long lunch break (we didn't want to arrive before 3), and it is pleasant enough. As seems usual with OnlyCamps, the receptionist - a man this time - is very nice. And the scenery is lovely! 

I haven't really been out today, other than for an explore when we arrived, as I felt very dizzy and unwell this morning - sinussy, I think - and although that has passed, I got a raging headache. 4Head has seen that off, more or less, but even still. I should have liked to have gone to the farm. 

Autumn Holiday, 3 October 2026

Sevrier, Haut-Savoie

It really was the most enormous Lidl you ever did see! Easily as big as your average hypermarket! I went over after breakfast to do my shopping, and even though I bought very little that wasn't on my actual list - some carrot salad (which would have been on my list had I remembered to put it there!), some pears, some grapes and a packet of pairs of socks for the Swan Whisperer, who is complaining because he has gone through the toes of all of his current pairs and I am making him throw them away - I found the shopping-bag very heavy, and when I discovered I had used the wrong exit to the car park and was walking merrily away from the aire, I had to ring the SW to come to my rescue. I had suggested he bring a second shopping-bag so we could divvy up the load, but he didn't hear that bit, and carried the lot for me. We stopped at a bridge over a stream where there were several nutria - we think that's what they are - and watched them for a bit. 

We had to stop again en route to the mountains as Lidl in France, no matter how enormous, doesn't seem to sell fresh milk. We stopped at a U Express, and I was delighted to find some greengages and some of the quinoa salad I like, as well as milk. 

En route to Lake Annecy, a small black squirrel ran across the road in front of us. I think it must have been a red squirrel - you know how they can be black, despite their name - and I reckoned we were having a wonderful wildlife day, especially as we also saw a black cat hunting in a field! 

The traffic through Annecy was very slow, but we got here in the end to this town on the lake where we are parked up in a campsite about 3 minutes' walk from the waterfront. The SW went for a walk but he said it was a bit boring as you had to go there and back again, there wasn't a sensible round trip. I just went down to the water's edge. There were two lovely chestnut trees, with loads of conkers underneath them. I don't think French kids collect them as passionately as British kids do, if at all!

As it is Saturday, the Swan Whisperer cooked sausages for our supper, which were lovely. Bratwurst, for a change, which we had bought in Lidl at home because they were on special offer! I gather we are going to miss Alpine Week this year, which is a bummer, so I hope they have it in France, too! 

Autumn Holiday 2 October 2026

Bourg-en-Bresse, Auvergne

My finger was a lot better this morning - I was still aware it wasn't quite right, but it didn't really hurt, and I have been able to forget about it. A good night's sleep also got rid of the shock, too, so I was fine this morning. 

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, and called in at a bakery on his way back, so we had a delicious fresh baguette with our breakfast (and the end of it for lunch). After this, we walked round the lovely Lac du Kir, enjoying watching a group of schoolkids canoeing and kayaking under the stern eye of a couple of instructors, and also some wildfowl.

But the best bit was that I caught a glimpse of a marvellous fox leaping through the undergrowth. The Swan Whisperer isn't quite sure that's what I saw - he didn't see it - but it was a lovely fox red, and I saw the torso and then its marvellous brush. It must have been in wonderful condition - all those ducklings and goslings and cootlings - cootlets? - and moorchicks it will have been feeding on all summer!

Anyway, we walked round he lake and got hotter and hotter. It had been a cool morning, but the sun came out and the temperature rose. We regretted our long sleeved shirts and my jacket! 

When we got back to the WoMo, the SW had his coffee and then we used the services before heading on. Our first stop was in a random car-park in a village somewhere, beside a rather rough sports ground to which a group of young schoolchildren - no older than Year 2, if that, we didn't think - came to play some team game or other. We were rather shocked that there was only one adult with them - what if one of them hurt themselves and had to be taken back to school? Anyway, when we left, they were all starting to play (not an organised game, but something their teacher had made up) except for one small boy who was sitting between the goal posts watching. He wore specs, so we didn't know whether he was neurodivergent and allowed not to play if he didn't want to, didn't play because he was short-sighted, or was injured or disabled in some way. I hope that neither he nor any of the other children went home with grass stains on their bums; their parents would not be impressed! 

We drove on. The trouble with going cross country, as we have done so far, is that the drives are far too interesting for me to want to go to sleep! Very interesting country, especially once we got into the Bresse region, where there were lots of cattle, both Charolais and Montbéliard, and huge fields full of the white hens for which the area is so famous. 

We got here about 4:00, "here" being a free aire on the outskirts of Bourg-en-Bresse, and after a cup of tea the SW went for yet another walk, and on his way back called in at the Lidl that is only a couple of hundred metres away to get some beer. Apparently it is an absolutely massive one, about the size of a Tesco Extra at home, so I'm looking forward to visiting it in the morning! I hope it sells fresh milk - I've never seen it in any Lidl here, but live in hope - so then we won't have to stop off at an E Leclerc or similar. 

Autumn Holiday, 1 October 2026

Plombières-lès-Dijon, France

Happy Black History Month, everybody. 

It was raining when we woke up this morning (at 07:00; I had set the alarm again), so the Swan Whisperer didn't go for a run, but even still we were faffing about a bit over breakfast and so on, so didn't get away until about 10:30. We had hoped to go to the local Carrefour for the day's shopping, but it had a height barrier on its car-park (so short-sighted when there is a popular campsite less than a mile away), so we went to Lidl instead, which had no such thing. Got what I needed, and then we got diesel at a Total petrol station and tried to get air as the tyres were a little low, but it didn't seem to have any. 

So we headed on southwards towards Dijon - this suburb is by the lovely lake we visited last year - stopping for lunch in a layby, and, of course, finding much nicer picnic places a few kilometres down the road. Then we did find a garage that had air, and that is when a minor disaster struck - getting out to help the SW, I caught the little finger of my left hand in the square part of the door frame where the latch goes in. I thought at first I'd broken it, but actually think it's no worse than a severe wrench. But it hurts - typing is actually rather painful - and meant, really, the end of my day, as even though Voltarol gel has taken the worstof the pain away, I am very shaken and have been fit for nothing. The rain is away, but I couldn't face going out for a walk round the lake, although I certainly hope I can in the morning. 

The aire is very full, but I don't think there's more than one French machine here, if that - lots of Belgians and Germans, and at least one other British vehicle, plus one we can't identify. I must stop typing - it hurts too much! 

Autumn Holiday, 30 September 2026

Chalons-en-Champagne, France

Always used to be called Chalons-sur-Marne, of course. I can't remember when it was renamed. 

Which numpty forgot to reset the alarm after yesterday's early start? The occasional alarms reset themselves after one use, so of course no alarm went off this morning, and we didn't wake up until 7:40! Fortunately, we were in no hurry. After breakfast, we both went on separate walks - I wanted to go into the town centre to see whether my blithe assurance that the shop with the ghost sign on it was merely shuttered for the night, not boarded up and empty (as, alas, so many shops in France are these days). I was right; it is now an employment agency and was open.

I hadn't planned to shop, but was walking past the local Carrefour Market, so it seemed stupid not to. Of course, I had to buy a bag, but it was only 69 cents, so not breaking the bank. 

Just as I turned to go back to the WoMo, it started to rain, and I was pretty wet by the time I got there. The Swan Whisperer got even wetter, as he was further away when the rain started, so had to change; I just managed not to have to, but did have to dry my neck!

We told the Satnav not to go on toll roads or motorways, so had a lovely drive south, through the little village of Maroilles (an absolute Must-See sometime, we think - so pretty, and, of course, the home of the eponymous cheese!) and Reims and here. Oddly, we don't seem to have seen many vineyards, but we know there are masses around. We saw a lot of potatoes (and, possibly, sugar-bet) being harvested, though, and quite a lot of cattle, which presumably supply milk for the Maroilles. 

When we got here, it was mizzling a bit, and it is incredibly hot and humid. I dodged the showers to do a bit of tai chi to shake out the fidgets, and since then have been reading and watching videos. We have had supper, and I still have a couple more videos to watch. 

Autumn Holiday, 28-29 September 2026

Landrecies, Hauts-de-France

In hindsight (always a wonderful thing), we would have done better to have gone down to Sussex on Saturday afternoon and brought the WoMo back to London then, although we don't like doing that now. The Swan Whisperer had an appointment at 15:50 yesterday afternoon, but the hospital rang up to say that the clinic started at 14:00 and he should get there then, but to bring a book as it might be very busy. So in the morning we finished packing and loaded up the car as far as possible, leaving the fridge stuff until later, and after a quick lunch, the SW went off while I did one or two last things like washing up lunch and so on. He rang up very soon to say it was done, and he was on his way home, so I packed up the fridge and then made myself a cup of tea. I regretted this by the time we were half way to Sussex, so the SW dropped me off at the start of the close that leads to No 6, and I ran in while he took the car up to the garage and exchanged it for the WoMo. 

We spent awhile getting organised, and the SW washed pigeon poo off the skylight, and then we hotted up the chicken casserole we had brought with us, and sat and enjoyed Quiz Night on television before an early-Ish night. 

This morning, we set the alarm for 05:30 so we could enjoy a cup of tea before heading off; we got away about 07:15, and ate a banana en route to keep us going. When we got to Folkestone, we had half an hour to wait so we went into the terminal and ordered a "Big breakfast roll" from one of the food outlets. This was big indeed - a rasher of extremely nice back bacon, a whole Cumberland sausage spiral and a fried egg inside a large white bap! Both of us left half our sausage for later, and I only ate half my bap. 

When we arrived in Calais, our first stop was petrol, as we think Total Energies must be subsidised at the moment; their diesel is about 12 cents a litre cheaper than anywhere else - very unusual - and a bit cheaper than in the UK. So we stopped at the petrol station at the exit from the Shuttle and filled up before heading to Cité Europe where I did a shopping. Although it was lunchtime, neither of us, unsurprisingly, was hungry, so we set off for our planned overnight stop, a campsite in Guise. We decided we would stop in Landrecies, where we have been before, to have something to eat (the rest of the sausage and our first-day patisseries, and the SW ate the other half of my bap). However, although I had E-mailed the campsite, I had not heard back from them, so as nobody was expecting us, we decided to stay here overnight. There are no services, but we don't need them, and it is free! 

We decided to go for a walk round the town, and found there was a self-guided tour available of the walls, but there were no walls so much of it was rather dull, just signs saying that there had used to be a wall here, or a gate there. I think they had been destroyed in 1918, when the town had to be evacuated, and were never rebuilt. 

Now back at the WoMo, we don't really want much supper, but are having salmon with lemon butter sauce and cauliflower! 

Nice Day for It exhibition, 21 August 2026

 Yesterday I read on IanVisits about this exhibition at Photofusion in Brixton, and, as I hadn't had enough exercise today, I decided to visit it this afternoon.  

Well, I got my step count in, and that's about all you can say for it!  Read Ian's article (linked above) and you won't need to visit the exhibition, since almost all the photos are shown!  It is in a very small room, with photos on the walls all round and a display case of postcards, mostly from Butlin's.  As these are under glass, they are quite difficult to see.  There was an explanatory panel just outside the door:

and then this was basically the exhibition:

It was never touted as being anything large, but I honestly didn't find it that interesting!  Oh well, it was free and in walking distance, and got me out of the flat!  And I did like this gentleman:

Day Trippers! 6 August 2026

 Didn't we have a lovely time, the day we went to Bangor....  Well, Bangor is a bit far away for a day trip, but C2C are offering £15 returns to Southend-on-Sea during August, so we decided to take advantage of this, as neither of us had ever been to Southend.

Neither of us had ever caught a train at Fenchurch Street Station before, nor do I think either of us had been on a C2C train.  Not that they are any different from any other commuter-type train in this country these days, although slightly more comfortable than most.

We had to collect our tickets from the station - they do do e-tickets, but I think you had to buy them on the app, which I ended up downloading anyway to get accurate timetables.  I had bought them via their website, so was issued a code.  We arrived at a side entrance to the station (Northern Line to Bank, then Monument to Tower Hill and a short walk - I thought Bank and Monument were linked underground, but it appears not to be the case.), and the one and only ticket machine was being used by a couple of people who were having trouble with it.  I went to the kiosk, which was staffed, and was issued our tickets no problem - I gather the machine was misbehaving.

The next train was leaving in a couple of minutes, so we got on it and about an hour later arrived at Southend Central, from where it was only a short walk down to the pier.  We decided to buy tickets for the pier railway, and were lucky enough that they held the train for us, or we'd have had to have waited half an hour for the next one.  The little train - a narrow-gauge railway - crawls along to the end of the pier.  The carriages are enclosed, with sideways bench seats.  Many years ago, there used to be a similar railway along the pier at Walton-on-the-Naze, which we took many times when we holidayed there in the 1960s, but that, I think, had open carriages and has long since demised.  I gather this one did close for awhile, but reopened.  

At the end of the pier, we had a lovely walk round.  The pier pokes out into the Thames Estuary, and we could see the Maunsell Sea Forts on the horizon, as well as watching a container ship come downriver (from Tilbury, we assumed) and head out to sea.  We also visited the lifeboats, and I bought a packet of rhubarb crumble biscuits for the Swan Whisperer, as it's all in a good cause. Lots of photos on Facebook, of course.

Then it was time to catch the train back to the town, which we did with rather less haste and more decorum than we had the outbound one!  And it was lunchtime.

There is really only one thing you can eat when on a day trip to the seaside and that is, of course, fish and chips.  The main road was lined with chippies, and we patronised one where a waitress was standing outside offering the menu.  We could, we discovered later, have found cheaper elsewhere, but it didn't really matter, as the cod and chips were excellent!  I couldn't eat all my chips, but had a jolly good try!  I drank fizzy water, and the Swan Whisperer had a 7-Up!  

After lunch, we made ourselves comfortable and then went for a short walk towards a building that we could see some distance away, which turned out to be the old Kursaal.  I gather this may reopen - it certainly looked far from abandoned and derelict, but we decided that was probably far enough to walk, so turned back and walked along the prom (prom-prom, but there wasn't a brass band going tiddley-om-pom-pom) back to where we could get an ice-cream - a 99 for the SW, and a scoop of rum and raisin for me, and then we walked back to the station.  We had discovered, on the way out, that there was a slightly different route we could go back, which went past Tilbury, so we got that, although we couldn't see very much of the port as the hedges were too high.  Then we walked to a 35 bus stop, and had to wait rather a long time for a 35, but one came in the end and we sat on that all the way home, a quick dash into Lidl to get some necessary staples, and then home and flaking out!  

Oh I do like to be beside the sea side...